According to a research report published this morning, Bank of America has lowered El Paso Pipeline's (NYSE: EPB) PO from $33 to $31.

In the report, Bank of America said, "On 18 May 2012, EPB agreed to acquire the previously proposed drop-down from its general partner (GP), El Paso (EP) (see: Large potential drop-down, but that might be all for EPB). The transaction cost is estimated at $635mn (excluding $242mn of debt) and the acquired assets include the remaining 14% interest of Colorado Interstate Gas (CIG) it does not own and 100% of Cheyenne Plains Gas Pipeline (CPG). EPB expects the transaction to close concurrently with Kinder Morgan, Inc.'s (KMI) pending acquisition of EP expected on 24 May. EPB's unit price declined 5.7% on the news (vs. (2.5%) for the Alerian MLP index (AMZ)) driven by investor expectations for additional equity, in our view."

Bank of America maintains its Underperform rating on El Paso Pipeline, which closed Friday at $30.64.